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Security Fundamentals & Crypto · Foundational

Cryptography

The science of protecting information by transforming it so only intended parties can read or verify it.

Definition

Cryptography provides confidentiality through encryption, integrity through hashing and MACs, authentication and non-repudiation through digital signatures, and secure key exchange. Modern cryptography relies on publicly known algorithms whose security depends on secret keys. It underpins TLS, VPNs, disk encryption, PKI, and authentication systems.

Example

TLS uses asymmetric cryptography to exchange keys and symmetric cryptography to encrypt the session.

Exam tip

Know which cryptographic tool delivers which security goal: encryption-confidentiality, hashing-integrity, signatures-non-repudiation.

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